biography
đž November 2021: Bacem Anas Romdhani in London during a video shoot for his âLiebesleidâ music video available on YouTube.
đž November 2021: Bacem Anas Romdhani in London during a video shoot for his âSerenadeâ music video available on YouTube.
Pianist: Elizaveta Velikhova
Bacem Anas Romdhani emerged from Tunisia as a child prodigy in the early 20âs. He is a Tunisian-British classical violinist rapidly becoming one of the most sought-after artists of his generation to proudly represent the musical elite of the MENA region.
Highlights of his career include being the first African-Arab classical artist to reach the semi-final of the Windsor Festival International string competition 2021 (UK), winning 3rd prize at the Vienna New Yearâs Concert International music competition 2021 and winning 1st prize at the Vatelot-Rampal International violin competition 2007 (Paris) before turning 12. He made his debut performance at the Wigmore Hall (London) in 2014.
Aged nine, Bacem Anas was invited by the Tunisian Symphony Orchestra to make his solo debut. Aged ten, He won the âWorld Philharmonic Orchestraâ competition 2006 in Paris and represented Tunisia, Africa & the Arab world as part of the 'Five children of the world'. His early musical journey is chronicled in the award-winning documentary âOnce Upon Our Timeâ (2010) produced by multi-award winning Tunisian film maker Hichem Ben Ammar.
Bacem Anasâ early success came to the attention of the president of the Tunisian Republic, where he received an Honorary award in 2007. In 2014, Bacem Anas became the first Tunisian classical artist to be appointed by the Tunisian Symphony Orchestra as their âSolo Artist in Residenceâ
He has performed widely in Europe, highlights include the Ăsterreichische Nationalbibiliothek for Tunisiaâs âNational Dialogue Quartetâ Nobel Peace prize ceremony in Vienna, the Menuhin & Tibor Varga Festivals, the Muziekgebouw in Holland and the Tunisian Embassy in London. He performed on all the major concert venues in Tunisia, to name a few Municipal Theatre of Tunis, Carthage Amphitheater, Acropolium of Carthage, Municipal Theatre of Sousse, El Jem Amphitheater.
Born in Tunis, he began the violin at age five with professors Rachid Koubaa and Sem Slimane at Zyriab Conservatoire for Music & Dance. At age eleven, he won a full scholarship from the prestigious music school The Yehudi Menuhin School and solely settled in the United Kingdom. He completed his undergraduate studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (London) with long time famed mentor Simon Fischer and went on to conclude his postgraduate and Artist diploma degrees at the Royal College of Music (London) with Maciej Rakowski & Radu Blidar.
He performs on the very fine âex.Menuhinâ 1998 violin made by Andreas Hellinge in Geneva, made specially for Lord Yehudi Menuhin.
Bacem Anas is generously supported by the Habib Bourguiba Foundation
Five Children of the World
World Philharmonic Orchestra (Paris)
World Philharmonic Orchestra
The World Philharmonic Orchestra (WPO) is the orchestra of the 21st century. The WPO was created so that the universal language of music would offer a message of peace and fraternity to the whole international community, uniting and bringing closer all nations through the participation of soloists who represent the symphonic orchestras from all countries (more than 80).
Five Children of the World
The Five Children of the World (2006) were scouted through a rigorous competition. Each talented and gifted child was given the opportunity to represent their country & continent, as well as awarded a generous scholarship and a fine instrument.
Bacem Anas Romdhani (Concertmaster): Representing Tunisia, Africa & the Arab World
Singles
Serenade
Vocalise
Liebesleid
Gavotte en Rondeau
Adagio
listen on your favourite platform!
Videos
Watch more videos
Concerts
Schedule will be published soon
documentary
Once Upon Our Time
Multi-award Winning Documentary (Tunisian Success Story)
Hichem Ben Ammar â Tunisia â 2010 â 85 min
In 2006, the 10-years-old violin prodigy Bacem Anas Romdhani, from the suburbs of Tunis, got the chance of a lifetime: he won the World Philharmonic Orchestra competition, where he was chosen to represent Tunisia/Africa/Arab World in the classical music domain, as part of the âFive Children of the Worldâ. He was awarded the âJean-Luc LagardĂšreâ scholarship to study with the international greats in his field.
This documentary follows him over the next four years, in which Bacem Anas travels to Paris, Brussels, Lyon & Switzerland for private lessons before finally being accepted at the prestigious International music school âThe Yehudi Menuhin Schoolâ in UK. Director Hichem Ben Ammar comments on the fairy tale-like aspects of Bacem Anasâ success in asides that evoke the Arabian Nights stories.
But ultimately, Bacem Anasâ story is first and foremost a portrait of his father Abderraouf. The trombonist and music teacher regards his son's achievements as the realization of his own broken dreams of musical success. Even before Bacem Anas was born, it was clear to his father that his son was to become a musician. Now the father must learn to live with the estrangement that his son's success will inevitably cause.
Credits
85 min â colour â video â Spoken Languages: Arabic, French, English
Director: Hichem Ben Ammar
__________________________________
Production: Hichem Ben Ammar for 5/5 Productions
______________________________________
Cinematography: Hatem Necchi, Abdessabour Belarbi, Anne Closset, Louise Purnell, Elodie Colomar, Rabii Messaoudi, Walid Mattar
______________________________________
Editing: InĂšs Cherif
______________________________________
Sound: Tarek Ben GhzaĂŻel, Aymen BraĂŻek, Yazid Chebbi
______________________________________
World Sales: 5/5 Productions
______________________________________
Screening Copy: 5/5 Productions
Violin
The very fine âex.Menuhinâ 1998 violin by Andreas Hellinge, Geneva, made specially for Lord Yehudi Menuhin
âIn 1998 Lord Yehudi Menuhin consigned the fabled 1742 âLord Wiltonâ Del Gesu for sale with Hug & Co in Zurich. Whilst it was for sale, the company invited the Swiss maker Andreas Hellinge to produce two âbench copiesâ of the violin. This is one of those copes that was intended for presentation to Menuhin as a memento of the sale. It is arguably amongst the most important contemporary violins commissioned for Menuhin. The violin has superb playing qualities, and is both musically and technically one of the best modern del Gesu copies I have come across.â
Gallery
